The fantastic Tom Baker special issue has invited me to share my experience of meeting Tom Baker three years ago. It was on the Strand in London, and I waited two and a half hours in the freezing March weather to meet him. It was definitely worth it! He was so charming and funny. I did the old cliché of offering him a jelly baby, and the old dog took the whole packet out of my hand! I also asked him to sign my copy of his autobiography, and he said, “Ah, yes. I read it recently – didn’t believe a word of it!” A lovely man.

◼ RYAN WILLIAMS (16) EMAIL

Venturing into the City of London after an amazing day at the brand-new Doctor Who Experience, my dad and I stumbled across a small shop that sold stamps and quite a bit of Doctor Who merchandise. While browsing, we heard a booming voice from behind us, and saw the Fourth Doctor himself. With a shy, “Mr Baker?”, I asked for a photo, and my father clumsily took a photo of me and Tom on his phone. After a handshake and a thank-you from both sides, we left the shop, both overwhelmed at what had just occurred!

A few years later, I was lucky enough to meet Tom again at a convention, where he was able to sign the photo we took together all those years ago! He remembered the encounter without hesitation, and he filled that 13-year-old with a memory I will never forget.

◼ BRYAN BURFORD EMAIL

I nearly met Tom Baker in 1979, probably not that long before DWM launched. He was doing a book signing in a small bookshop in Watford, and I was already a massive fan. I was nine. Imagine the excitement of going to meet Doctor Who, and then imagine the disappointment of coming down with tonsillitis a few days before! Feverish and bedridden, and not able to go and meet your hero.

Luckily for me, my mum gritted her teeth, went and queued patiently, and came home with a signed copy of The Making of Doctor Who.

I’m still sorry I never got to meet Tom Baker personally, and it seems unlikely that I ever will, but I’ve always been grateful for the extra moment he took to write those words – they meant a lot to a poorly nine-year-old, and still make this 46-year-old smile. It’s all been said before, but while he’s still here, I’d like to say, ‘Thanks, Tom.’

About Doctor Who Magazine

DWM 502 looks forward to the new TARDIS team of the Doctor, Bill and Nardole! Contents include exclusive interviews with showrunner Steven Moffat and with casting director Andy Pryor; artist Mike Collins shows how he created the storyboards for the 2015 series Doctor Who; the new comic strip, The Pestilent Heart by Mark Wright continues; the history of DWM with BBC Enterprises in the mag's earliest days is revealed; the Time Team watch Amy's Choice; The Fact of Fiction focuses on the 1973 Third Doctor adventure, Frontier in Space; plus prize-winning competitions, official news, reviews, previews and much, much more!